No Kidding, 2G for E-Call

Carmakers ain't phone companies. A majority of those "embedded cellular" modems designed for e-call aren't even 3G. They will be 2G, according to an IHS analyst.

MADISON, Wis. -- It should surprise no one that your basic late-model car today is essentially morphing into a giant cellphone. Each new car to be sold in Europe starting in October 2015 must integrate a cellular modem. Driving the trend for "embedded cellular" on the automotive market is the European Union's e-call mandate.

The surprise, though, is that a majority of those "embedded cellular" modems designed for e-call aren't even 3G. They will be 2G, according to Luca De Ambroggi, senior analyst responsible for automotive component and device at IHS, a market research firm.

So, who in the world is going to to admit that their newest car features cellular network technology from the 1990s? Well, even though they're not bragging about it, the world's penny-pinching carmakers do. Carmakers ain't phone companies. "[Automotive] OEMs are concerned about the cost of a wireless module," explained De Ambroggi in a recent phone interview with EE Times.

But hang on.

Most drivers nowadays already carry has a smartphone. So, why would it matter if the "embedded cellular" inside the car is a 2G, 3G, or LTE?

Well, it actually doesn't -- as long as a driver uses the smartphone for in-car infotainment purposes. But what if you want to use the mobile phone as an e-call device? Not a chance, according to the EU.

European e-call requires cars to automatically ring for assistance during a vehicular accident. As you might expect, the criteria for an e-call box are stringent. They require all features to be "self-sustaining" -- even in a car crash -- and to come with a separate "backup" battery. IHS's De Ambroggi added that the box must consist of qualified automotive parts, and the functions inside the box including GPS must guarantee 15 years of life.

There are thousands of accident scenarios under which a driver's mobile phone just won't cut it as a real e-call device. "Telematics solutions based on a mobile device will not be compliant with basic e-call specifications," as De Ambroggi put it.

Class action suit against Ford
Then, there was a proposed class action lawsuit filed against Ford last week, alleging that the MyFord Touch and the Lincoln infotainment system are defective.

This doesn't exactly give me much confidence in the use of an in-car system paired with my own phone.

In the lawsuit filed against Ford, the most serious complaint is that the system freezes periodically and fails to respond to voice and touch commands. The complaint also details Ford's failed attempts at correcting the system through system updates and other fixes.

My understanding is that the eCall is a dormant system, only triggered when an accident occurs or by the driver pushing a button manually in the car.

The European Commission even said in a statement:

"It is not traceable and when there is no emergency (its normal operational status) it is not subject to any constant tracking. As it is not permanently connected to mobile networks, hackers cannot take control of it."

Yeah, this reminds me how I finally got a car with a CD player about the time music went to the MP3 generation. (My next car will have an iPhone dock!)

I underdstand reliability is a top concern for carmakers, there are few robust LTE chips on the market and not all areas have LTE servcies yet, but 2G? Holy crow, why not just release a carrier pidgeon from the trunk in the event of an accident ;-)

When consumer electroincs was my main beat at EE Times for a long time, I was always reminded that every penny counts. In other words, CE vendors will never go out of their way to add expensive chips inside their box, unless they are a real "game changer."

But now that I pursue the automotive beat, I am astounded to learn how these carmakers really ask for saving this penny here and that penny there. Wow, I had no idea!

Rick, you know what is really effective and unaffected by cellular reception issues? Rotary spark gap generators and as a bonus I am pretty sure Marconi's patents have expired. All we need is a hardened microcontroller to use the engines condenser to generate the requisit transmissions!

I don't necessarily see 2G as a problem. The built-in phone is intended to let the car make calls. The people in the car will likely have their own phones. Does the car need 3G for the sort of calls (like roadside assistance requests) that it may need to make?

And automakers aren't cheapskates - buyers are. The more expensive the components they put into cars, the higher the sticker price has to be, and price will be a factor in the purchase decision.

So for something like this, if lower end and therefore cheaper technology will meet the need, it's what will get used.